The nomads of Morocco: what do nomads do all day?

We had a question: what exactly does a nomad in Morocco do all day? In other words, what does a typical day look like?

In the past, nomadic families were truly nomadic: they moved frequently, changing the area where they lived. But because of the drought, which becomes especially severe at certain times of the year, many have had to start settling down. Some have become less nomadic and now live in villages.

Others, however, have not given up and continue living a fully nomadic life. We met them in the desert. They live in tents made from materials such as camel or goat wool. The tents do not have many layers, so they often have to endure the cold in winter and the heat in summer. They are, however, quite large and divided into two sections: one for the women and one for the men.

In the center is the cooking area with the fire, while food is stored along the sides. Most of the time, the tents are set up in the rocky desert rather than the sandy one, where life is more difficult because the sand is too unstable (and inconvenient).

Since life in the desert is, in fact, not always so exciting (as beautiful and wonderful as the desert may be), nomads choose to live together in several families, forming a clan. Once this nomadic clan has used up the available grazing resources, it moves on, walking long distances through the desert in search of a new place to settle.

We spent an entire day with one family to discover what a typical day in the life of a nomad is like.

The men wake up at dawn and take the goats and camels out to graze for the entire day. They walk a lot, all day, every day. The women, on the other hand, leave at dawn with a donkey and their younger children to fetch water from the nearest well and gather wood for the fire. When they return, they cook, take care of the children, and devote time to “small desert hobbies,” such as sewing. Children as young as six help their parents by taking the goats out to graze, though without going too far from the camp. And no, none of the children go to school.

In short, nomads are tough, strong, resilient people. They live this life (which, to us, seems unimaginable) not because they cannot afford anything else, but by choice. It is a way of life passed down from generation to generation.

A choice! Brave and incredible.

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